When Manny Pacquiao began stringing together wins against
future Hall of Famers, he was fearless, fierce and relentless, and perhaps a
bit reckless. Manny Pacquiao no longer
fights that way. Thanks to Freddie Roach’s
tutelage, he is now a more tactical, intelligent and deliberate fighter. Unfortunately, this change in fighting style is probably the reason
why he has stopped being the unstoppable force that railroaded anyone who went
in front of him.
Yes, I think he is on the decline.
Whether it be from the accumulation of blows that his body took over his
past 60 fights, or the natural decline of his physical gifts now that he is in
his 30s, or the outside distractions which often plague his camps – it is
obvious that he no longer instills fear in the opponent’s eyes the way he once
did.
I suspect that he has lost the hunger and inclination for
inflicting pain, which is natural for someone who has nothing left to prove
after recording what no one else will probably be able to surpass, let alone
duplicate: 8 titles in 8 weight divisions.
And he has more money now than he, Jinkee and Mommy D could spend in
their lifetime, throw in the long years and buying capacity of his children.
And now that he has found the call to preach God’s word, he
has seemingly found the inner peace of someone who sees boxing as a sport that
should stop at bludgeoning opponents senseless.
Pacquiao is no longer fierce.
But having said that, there is no way that Timothy Bradley
beat him. Sure Pacquiao is a shadow of
who he once was but Bradley was not even good enough to beat a spent Pacman.
What he did was put up a decent fight, but not enough to merit the split
decision that Judges C.J. Ross and Duane Ford rewarded him with.
I admit I’m not a boxing expert. But that’s exactly the reason why the
decision smacks of doubt. It was not a
complicated fight to judge like the third Pacquiao-Marquez fight where the
final decision could really be argued both ways. The bout was clear enough for even
non-experts to evaluate. Pacquiao dinged
Bradley over and over, almost throughout the fight. That he was not able to knockdown the game
Bradley was beside the point, and can only be proof that Pacquiao is on the
decline, or Bradley was tough -- which ever way you'd like to see it. But he still got whacked over
and over, and in retaliation Bradley walloped Manny’s forearms and gloves
nonstop.
The fight stats also belied the decision. Pacquiao
outpunched Bradley by close to 90 punches throughout the fight. The punches that landed on Pacquiao created
contact, but not harm, like a staggered Pacquiao or welts and bruises that bore
signs of punishment. Bradley on the other hand reeled from
Manny’s punches several times.
What is there to
judge?
Even Bradley seemed surprised. When asked what he thought about the
decision, he said he has to go home and watch the video of the fight. That is not a statement of a fighter who
expected the win, that was a clear indication that he also needed convincing
proof that he indeed won the fight.
After all, he has been whacked over and over by a less than ferocious,
but still hard punching opponent.
But I have to hand it to Manny, he was gracious in defeat,
however controversial it was. Again, I
would like to think that his demeanor stems from his lost desire to fight with
mean intent.
So what’s next? Only Pacquiao can decide. As it stands, there are still millions of
dollars left on the table. It seems that
that is his only motivation now. When he says he’d like to bring joy to his
fans, especially his kababayans, I now seem to doubt that. Filipino fans, myself included, find joy in
seeing him being a beast inside the ring; which he no longer is. If he can find it in him to regain that lost ferocity
then I say, go ahead fight some more.
But should he return simply a shadow of himself then I say it’s time for
him to move on.
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